HOW TO: SWIM WITH THE WHALE SHARKS (and get good photos!)

Semenjak foto-foto turis berenang dengan gentle giant, the whale sharks, beredar di internet, Desa Botubarani di Gorontalo hampir tidak pernah sepi. Sore hari di saat weekdays atau puncaknya di weekend, perairan desa yang berjarak hanya 40 menit saja berkendara dari pusat kota Gorontalo selalu dipenuhi orang-orang yang ingin menikmati sensasi berenang dengan makhluk yang berukuran hingga lebih dari meter panjangnya.

Since the photos of tourists swimming with the gentle giant, the whale sharks, spreaded on the Internet, Botubarani village in Gorontalo has almost never been empty. During the weekdays' afternoons or at the peak of weekend, the waters of the village which is just 40 minutes' drive from the center of Gorontalo city is always full of people who want to enjoy the thrill of swimming with the creatures which are up to more than a meter in length.

Namun sayang, antusiasme ini tidak diikuti dengan pengetahuan dasar aturan berinteraksi dengan hiu paus ini, alhasil banyak yang menggunggah foto memegang gentle giants ini, menarik fin hiu paus, hingga menginjak dan menduduki hiu jenis terbesar di dunia ini.

Unfortunately, this enthusiasm is not followed by a basic knowledge of the rules of interacting with the whale sharks, as a result many people uploaded photos in which they touch these gentle giants, pulling their fins, and also stepping even sitting on this biggest shark in the world.

Selain dapat melukai diri sendiri dan melukai whale sharks, cara berinteraksi yang salah juga malah berujung dibully di sosial media, niatan keren malah jadi stress terkena berbagai cacian dan komen penuh amarah dari netizen.

Not only it could make people to hurt themselves and hurt the whale sharks, the wrong way to interact could also make people getting bullied in social media, the intention to look cool could only make them stressed because of getting various insults and angry comments from netizens.

SO HOW TO INTERACT WITH WHALE SHARKS?

It's simple, keep your hands off, keep you feet off them. Jangan dipegang, jangan ditarik-tarik finnya (yes, saya melihat ada yang posting dengan bangga saat menarik dorsal fin whale shark). IT IS NOT GOOD, meski kulit whale shark tebal, tetap saja kita dapat melukai mereka, dan sebaliknya. Saat mereka merasa tidak nyaman juga berisiko kita terluka karena gerakan mendadak dari whale shark yang berukuran besar.

It's simple, keep your hands off, keep your feet off them. Do not touch, do not pull their fins (yes, I see some people post photos in which they look proud pulling the whale shark's dorsal fin). IT IS NOT GOOD, although the whale shark's skin is actually thick, we still can hurt them, and vice versa. When they feel uncomfortable it is too risky since we could get hurt because of the sudden movement of the large whale shark.

 

BUT I WANT TO GET GOOD PHOTOS

It's pretty easy to get stunning photos with a creature so big (all whale shark photos always interesting), siapkan kamera dengan lensa super wide (action cam mostly kameranya fish eye alias super wide), gantian minta teman saling memfoto, jangan terlalu dekat juga nanti keseluruhan figur whale shark ini tidak muncul di frame.

It's pretty easy to get stunning photos with a creature that is so big (all whale shark photos are always interesting), set up the camera with super wide lens super (action cam mostly camera since their lens are fish eye aka super wide), take turns with friends to take photos of each other, do not get too close too or the overall figure of whale shark will not appear in the frame.

Take a lot of pictures, jangan takut ambil gambar, toh sekarang udah jaman digital, file-file yang blur, tidak bagus dll bisa dihapus belakangan.

Take a lot of pictures, do not be afraid to take a picture, since now is already the digital era, if you find blur files, you could always delete them later.

BUT I CANNOT SWIM PROPERLY

Use lifejacket, atau gunakan snorkel, sambil terus berenang dengan posisi horizontal saja. Selain nyaman, foto dengan posisi berenang biasa pun oke kok.

Use lifejacket, or use a snorkel, while continuing to swim in a horizontal position only. Not only it is comfortable, taking photos with ordinary swimming position is pretty good.

Another shot: ngambang biasa aja, kalau ada whale shark di sekeliling kita, otomatis it's gonna be good good photos, ga usah mikir kita mesti keliatan keren, mau sekeren apapun gaya kita, whale sharknya tetap jadi fokus utama di foto kok hehe.

Another shot: just floats normally, if there are whale sharks around us, it's automatically gonna be a good good photos, don't think that we must look cool, whatever our style is in the photos, whale shark will still become the major focus in the picture anyway haha!

I CAN DUCK DIVE!

Then, it's good, so you can swim with them below. Ingat untuk sadar kedalaman saat mengejar whale shark, tau-tau tidak sadar sudah cukup dalam dan napas sudah habis hehe.

Then, it's good, so you can swim with them below. Remember to be aware of the depth while pursuing whale shark, if you swim too deep and not realizing it, you could run out of your breath hehe.

Ingat untuk tetap tenang, jangan rusuh sehingga kita bisa berenang dengan tenang di sisi mereka, sisi atas lebih baik karena terkadang whale shark berbelok sehingga kemungkinan tertabrak oleh gentle giants ini lebih sedikit.

Remember to stay calm, not too chaotic so we could swim calmly on their side, the upper side is better because sometimes the whale sharks turned to the right and left, so that the possibility of getting hit by the gentle giants is less.

Jika menggunakan selfie stick, ingat untuk tidak mengenai whale shark ya, they're big so it's hard to get full selfie shot with them kalau terlalu dekat, lebih baik atur jarak, crop foto bisa belakangan kan :)

If using selfie stick, remember to not let it touch whale shark, they're big so it's hard to get a full shot selfie with them if it's too close, it is better to set the distance, you can always crop the photos later :)

REMEMBER TO STOP TAKING PHOTOS, AND JUST ENJOY

It's a magical feeling for sure!

The sensasion of swimming with sharks so big, yet so gentle is UH-MAZING, jangan terlalu terbuai heboh foto-foto terus dan yang kita lihat dari awal sampai akhir hanyalah LCD kamera, you're missing the point.. nikmati sensasi saat whale shark mendekat seakan tidak perduli kita ada di dekatnya, jika bisa freedive, go swimming with them, perhatikan pola bintik-bintik di badannya yang sangat menarik, lihat dorsal fin besarnya, perhatikan beberapa bekas luka yang berbeda di setiap whale shark, then we starting to recoqnize one by one, it's totally amazing!

The sensasion of swimming with sharks which are so big, yet so gentle is UH-MAZING, do not be lulled into a taking photographs all the time that the only thing you see from start to finish is just camera's LCD, you're missing the point .. enjoy the sensation when the whale shark is approaching as if it doesn't care that we are nearby, if you can freedive, go swimming with them, take a closer look at the pattern of spots on its body that is very interesting, look how big the dorsal fin is, pay attention at the distinctive scar on each whale shark, then we start to recoqnize them one by one, it's totally amazing! 

RESPECT

Nature is always bigger than you, stronger than you. Jangan merasa besar (kepala), they might be gentle but they're not pets. Put respect on them, and nature will be kind to you. 

Nature is always bigger than you, stronger than you. Do not feel big (head), they might be gentle but they're not pets. Put them on respect, and nature will be kind to you.

 

@marischkaprue - gently swimming with Destiny

Photos by Ferry Rusli

NOTES

Went with my #sisterhoodofthetravelingfins :)

DESA BOTUBARANI WHALE SHARK FEEDING

Desa Botubarani

Kabupaten Bone Bolango, Provinsi Gorontalo

Sulawesi - Indonesia

RULES TO KNOW TO INTERACT WITH WHALE SHARK

No touching

Never put anything into whale shark's mouth (kecuali makanan yang disediakan petugas)

Siapkan masker + snorkel + fin atau life jacket pelampung bagi yang belum nyaman berenang di laut

Jangan panik, they're very gentle :)

No touching

Never put anything into the whale shark's mouth (except meals provided officers)

Prepare mask + snorkel + fins or life jacket to those who aren't comfortable to swim in the sea

Do not panic, they're very gentle :)

 

ADMISSION FEE

Rp. 15.000,- per person (entry fee), belum termasuk sewa kapal dll, tambahkan juga tip untuk guide

Estimate fee per person for all in: Rp. 100.000,- up to Rp. 150.000,- per person

Rp. 15.000, - per person (entry fee), not including rental boats etc, also add the tip to guide

Estimate fee per person for all in: Rp. 100.000, - up to Rp. 150.000, - per person

 

GROUP VISIT
Contact: Tukang Jalan for arrangement

CP : Mentari 085810697553

Simpati 081315890191

XL 087808116852
WA / LINE : 081806898303 ; 087808116852 / 085810697553
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Email : tuk4ng.jalan@gmail.com

ANOTHER ATTRACTION IN GORONTALO

Pulo Cinta, resort on top of the sea in breath-taking location

See HERE for more details